nuclear-news

Problem of nuclear regulator in bed with nuclear industry

Nuclear regulatory reform must weed out entrenched interests, Mainichi Daily News, 2 Feb 12,  Bills relating to a shift in the nation’s nuclear power policy were approved by the Cabinet on Jan. 31. In addition to the establishment of a new nuclear regulatory agency under the Environment Ministry, the government is aiming to legislate the lifespan of nuclear reactors, and require plant operators to outline specific measures against severe nuclear accidents.

Significant harm has been done by allowing the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), an administrative body tasked to regulate nuclear power safety, to exist under the umbrella of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), a major promoter of nuclear power.

Divorcing nuclear regulation from nuclear promotion and centralizing regulatory duties into one agency stands to reason.Changing the agency’s name from the originally proposed “nuclear power safety agency” to “nuclear power regulatory agency” is likewise pertinent, considering the new agency’s nature.

However, the mere alteration of a name and rearrangement of an
organization will not result overnight in a highly independent agency
specializing in regulation. Because many of the new agency staff
members are likely to come from NISA, specific measures are necessary
to secure the independence of the new body.

It remains unclear how a nuclear safety investigation committee,
envisaged in one of the bills approved by the Cabinet, will contribute
toward ensuring the safety of nuclear power. Since the Cabinet
Office’s Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) lost the confidence of the
Japanese public over its response to the ongoing nuclear disaster, the
new committee cannot expect to gain it back without demonstrating its
independence and competence….
Numerous corporations and organizations make up the national framework
that had heretofore promoted nuclear power, and their role in
“amakudari” — literally “descent from heaven,” referring to the
practice of former bureaucrats taking advisory posts in industries
they previously regulated — has been pointed out. For effective
regulations to gain ground, it is important to extend reform to such
organizations with entrenched interests.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/editorial/news/20120201p2a00m0na004000c.html

February 2, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties